brynhild's Profile

Oops... WHILE we were out. Sorry!

Gorgeous home...love the use of light throughout the space. Lucinda and Nicholas, if you are still answering questions, could you tell me (1) who made the standards and brackets for the LR wall, and (2) where or how did you get that great hi-gloss finish on the shelves? We are looking to do exactly the same thing on a 20' long wall. Thanks!

Name: Door Sixteen
URL: http://www.doorsixteen.com

Liz, I'm assuming from your question that this is a brownstone. If so, I know (from experience x 3 at this point) that they were often constructed with absolutely no insulation between floors. Ceiling, joist, floor. That's it. So, the entire building is one giant noise conductor. We live in a gorgeous top floor apartment and our landlords have the bottom two floors...and although we are all very quiet, we always hear their music and sometimes we can even hear them cough. For us it's OK, because we are all so quiet, and it's a minor nuisance. But, for you, what I wonder is, how's your landlord's heating bill? I'll bet it's high--especially if there is little or no insulation between floors of the building. And I'll bet in these days of escalating fuel prices that reducing that bill would be of interest to your landlord. If you like your place enough, and plan to stay for a while, what about offering to split the cost of blowing insulation into the space between your apartments? A well-maintained owner-occupied brownstone is like gold. Hope that helps...and hope I didn't just get your scenario wrong and made this up out of whole cloth.

Wow, Anna, you're channeling me:

"I would really love to have a solid week off with full sunshine, temperatures in the 70s, and plenty of energy so I could get a bunch of house and garden projects done without winding up a gross, sweaty mess."

Amen (apartment only, though--we don't have a garden). However--since this is the hottest summer I've experienced in more than 20 years of living in New York City--we're heading to VT and Montreal in late August instead. Sometimes there's something to be said for getting away...

Love your blog, and thanks for sharing this.

I grew up in Cologne in the 1960's--an American expat with a dad opera conductor and a mom journalist. Thanks, Belen, for the house call! This post makes me really homesick (although, wow--global warming! We rarely had snow in winter, some 40 years ago).

What does not make me homesick are some of the comments about the Keep Calm poster. @bepsf is right. It's ironic. I'm pretty sure Belen knows this. And, given what I learned from my many, many German friends growing up, I'm pretty sure she's (sorry, Belen, if you're not a she) not offended by bepsf's comment. Cologne was one of the German cities most heavily damaged by Allied bombs in the war. It's a miracle the famous cathedral is still standing. I remember, growing up, walking past bombed-out building after bombed-out building--still waiting to be reconstructed or razed and the space allowed to become something else. This was a normal part of life in Germany at that time--and believe me when I tell you that there is no one in Germany then, or now, who would not understand the irony in the Keep Calm poster.

@Keisha Kornbread is right too. Thanks for that insightful comment.

And sometimes a chair is just a chair. Maybe Belen just likes the graphic and the sentiment?

Just as a thought--could we get back to talking about apartment and home therapy? (I realize that's completely oxymoronic given this rant....)

P.S. No, neither my husband nor I works for Dyson. And yes, we paid full retail for our two AM-02 fans. (In case anyone wants to know, they're the 10-inch white with silver.)

We have an apartment in Park Slope with a whole lot of plaster ornamentation too. We love modern furniture, so that's what we have--as well as a lot of modern art--and we think the combination is fantastic. Check LivingEtc's website for the Brit take on this. I agree with zoee--go with what you really love, and it will look right! And, if you're still looking, check out the Brooklyn Flea. We've seen some great pieces there.

What a great, great place! Inspiring in so many ways. Jacob, how did you make those felt ottomans? They look almost like you sandwiched together felt floor pads from polishing machines--but I must be wrong?

This is fantastic--especially since we only ever use three knives! The perfect fit for an apartment kitchen.